To the Victor Belong the Spoils
by darkunlimited
Summary: Serah finds herself getting in over her head when gambling the slots at Serendipity which results in Noel needing to use unique measures to bail her out. AU - Because I doubt they'd ever do this in a Final Fantasy game...


Received this request from JustJen on AO3: How about one with them gambling in Serendipity? If Serah gets in over her head and Noel has to bail her out. At a price of course. :P

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the characters... do own the bad writing.

* * *

**To the Victor Belong the Spoils**

* * *

Noel had been minding his own business watching the chocobo races when several men wearing suits and shades approached him from behind. "You need to come with us sir."

"Is there a problem?" He had noticed their approach but not wanting to cause trouble decided to hear them out before taking any action. The one in charge, a man a bit larger in build than the others stepped forward, adjusting his shades before he answered.

"You came here with a pink-haired girl, correct?" Noel nodded, forcing his face to stay neutral as he internally worried that something had happened to Serah. It wasn't likely… they had never had trouble here before but who knew what happened in this timeless place when the timelines altered. However, he wasn't expecting what happened next when more men appeared suddenly behind him. "Take him."

* * *

Another jackpot rang on her machine; she really was on fire right now. Once she got one more jackpot in Super Victory Mode she would stop and go find Noel so they could leave or go to the hotel to rest for the night. She would just need to pay back the debt she had built up with the casino when she had started. Waving her hand outside the machine, Serah beckoned one of the cat-girls over to assist her.

"How may I help you?" The girl practically mewed out, her pitch high and somewhat whiny. Serah winced at the tone though she did her best to keep a smile on her face. The girl did give her a hint on how well the machine had been doing earlier after all.

"I'd like to speak with the manager about my debt? I think I won back enough to pay him with interest." The girl tilted her head questioningly before she nodded and stepped away leaving Serah to fill her cup with her most recent earnings. Judging from the machines records, they had enough Gil now for the Chaos Crystal Hope wanted along with those Fragment Crystals and the Wild Artefact.

"Miss?" The cat-girl had returned, the look of confusion she held earlier even more contorted as she approached Serah. "The manager says that your debt was already paid in full. He said something about a young man?"

"Oh!" Serah's smile widened with affection. Noel must have paid off the debt already when the casino manager asked her if she had any collateral. They did have a habit of splitting the Gil between them; a good thing in this instance as since Serah hadn't predicted just how badly she would do with the slots earlier.

"Is there anything else?" The cat-girl stood patiently waiting to see if Serah needed anything else.

"No, I think that will be it. Thank you." Serah finally was able to get a hold of all the coins she could and stepped away from the machine feeling better than she had all day. After all she had finally solved their problem on getting that chaos crystal... it just took a little more Gil than she had on her at the time.

* * *

It had been several hours since she left the casino and purchased all the items she needed for their travels back to 4XXAF but Serah couldn't find Noel anywhere and when asked the casino workers claimed ignorance and the manager was nowhere to be found. Eventually she went to where Mog was staying at the Mystic Chamber to see if perhaps Noel had come by while she was out searching.

"He's not here, kupo." Mog immediately told her the moment she came through the doors. "Do you need help finding him, kupo?" For Mog, it was proof that the moogle was worried as well about their teammate's whereabouts.

"Yes, between the two of us, one should find a lead. I'm not leaving without him." Following her moogle companion, Serah decided to retrace her steps. Noel had originally been at the races but only after he had dropped her off by the slots. It's possible that the two of them kept missing each other because she was the one not staying in place. Besides, Serendipity wasn't that big so eventually he would have to come back to where he last saw her.

"Something's different, kupo." The bobble on Mog's head lit up just as they entered the Hall of Gaming, people still crowding the slot machines and card tables in spite of how late it was getting.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary." Bringing her hands to her chest, Serah tried to concentrate, see if anything really was amiss.

"A lot of women are gathering behind a false wall past the card tables." False wall? Now that she looked, there always seemed to be something that the owner of Serendipity was blocking whenever either Serah or Noel would get near the back wall of the casino floor and said owner was now seemed to be missing. However Mog was right, there were lots of other women slowly making their way towards the back and just disappearing moments after.

"I wonder what's going on over there?" Serah began to walk towards the back when she overheard one of the chocobo girls stop another female patron who was heading in the same direction as the rest of the others.

"Sorry, if you don't know the password I can't let you in. Manager's orders!" The female patron scoffed and turned around, clearly disappointed as she walked away.

"Excuse me?" Serah stepped in front of the patron, stopping her from leaving. "Can you tell me what's going on here?"

"I wanted to see the new show!" The woman whined, crossing her arms across her chest. "Apparently it's a new attraction for just the ladies that the owner is testing out but in order to get in you need to get a password and it changes every hour. I thought I had the most recent one but I guess they just switched out the posters so now I have to find one and ugh- just such a hassle!" This whole situation was just getting weirder, Serah had been searching for hours for Noel and somehow she still missed the opening of a new attraction?

"Mog, do you think Noel is back there?"

"Pretty sure of it, kupo. Maybe he helped set it up to square away your debt?" Mog waved his wand and Serah couldn't stop the sinking feeling of guilt from settling at the bottom of her stomach.

"We have to get in there, Mog!" If the owner was honestly making Noel work off her earlier debt then she was going to not only give him a piece of her mind but also make sure that Noel got the apology of a lifetime for her stupidity.

"I'm on it, kupo." The moogle fluttered over nearby where the chocobo girl was letting other past the fake wall trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. He was only gone moments before he flew back, a strange look upon his face. "I overheard the password, kupo. People must really want to see the attraction in order to say it though, kupo."

"What is it?" Leaning in, Mog whispered it into Serah's ear.

* * *

"Password please." The chocobo girl chirped enthusiastically as Serah came towards her. She opted to leave Mog behind with instructions to continue to keep a lookout for Noel just in case he left the area before she did.

"Meow-meow, choco-chow?" The saying was cute if not a little embarrassing to say. What exactly was this attraction she was walking into?

"Aww, you'd make a cute kitty! Go ahead and enter behind the blind miss, the Blue Blaze awaits!" That name again. Who or what was this Blue Blaze? Taking a deep breath, Serah pulled back the blind that protected the false wall from prying eyes and found herself in a poorly lit hallway that seemed to stretch down for a while. Whatever this attraction was, they were keeping it well separated from all their other events.

Serah could hear pulsing music start to vibrate throughout the walls the closer she got to the end of the hallway and by the time she reached the end and pulled back the curtain blocking the way her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

It was a strip club, complete with stage, poles, walkways and strobe lights. The music that was thrumming through the floorboards was keeping the beat with the lights on the stage, which was surprisingly empty. Groups of women were all sitting either at the bar in the back corner, sitting in booths or at the chairs sitting at the bottom of the walkways.

Mog had to be wrong about where Noel was, now that she took everything in. The place was filled with women and no men, so why would Noel even be here?

"Ladies! Welcome to opening night for the hottest new club just for you!" One of the cat-girls from the main casino area was MC-ing via center stage to the crowd. "For those of you fortunate enough to join us by finding our super-secret hidden posters around Serendipity we thank you for coming. If you just got here, take a seat as the show will be starting soon with our one-night only featured dancer, the Blue Blaze!" All the ladies burst out into cheers as the music changed up and the lights began to circle around the stage.

Serah took the last remaining seat at the center walkway to wait… she didn't want to be rude to the other guests here making a scene with her search. Besides, she was undeniably a bit curious about the show as she had never been to a strip club before and didn't even know they had them for women. Her sister would have never approved especially given her engagement to Snow but Lightning wasn't here right now and would it really hurt to have a look and do something a little devious in her life? It wasn't like she was some crazy party girl. She hadn't even had an engagement party though that was probably because Snow had been missing since he set off to find Lightning. Would it really hurt to sit back and watch just once?

The music changed again and the curtains towards the back of the stage parted, exposing a tall man with his hair tied back in a partial ponytail wearing a dark blue cape with bright blue sequin edging who had yet to turn around to the crowd. The beat of the music got stronger and the man swiftly turned, walking towards the crowd of women. Showing the rest of his clothes. For a stripper, he seemed overdressed but maybe that was part of the process? Serah could see he also wore a mask, which covered his identity, so chances are that was all part of the act too.

As the man strutted forward, somewhat awkwardly, Serah noticed he began to keep the beat of the music with his hips and stopped to begin gyrating. The other women around her practically swooned at this movement, some screaming while others began tossing casino coins and Gil onto the stage.

"Take it off baby!" Screamed one of the ladies at the back of the room and on command the man on the stage tore off the jacket he had been wearing, throwing it into the distance. Serah could hear the patrons there fighting over the article of cloth until the white dress shirt followed onto the other side of the room exposing the incredibly ripped body beneath the clothes.

Unconsciously Serah found herself leaning back in her seat to take in the stripper's physique. The clothes they had put him in originally really had covered up what lay underneath far too well and it was almost a tragedy that his chest hadn't been exposed sooner. The small blue bow-tie around his neck was the next item to go and Serah couldn't seem to stop herself from prodding into her pockets for some of the leftover Gil she had. After all, awkward though the man seemed to be in his steps, he really did have a nice body… of course after taking off his pants she made the amendment in her brain from nice to freaking amazing.

With just the cape, mask and blue sequined G-string left on the dancer, Serah knew that if she wanted to participate at all she needed to do it now before the song ended. After all, what was one silly little step into being naughty really going to do to her? Who would see it?

Bravely pulling out a few Gil, Serah motioned for the stripper to come her way, though how he could see with all that light flashing on his face was a mystery even if he was pretty close now. In fact, the closer he came to her the more Serah had a feeling that she knew the dancer from somewhere and it wasn't until she caught the flash of the strippers blue eyes widening in shock that she dropped the gil in her outstretched hand, her cheeks turning crimson.

"Serah?" It was Noel. Noel was the stripper she'd been ogling at with all the others around her.

"Uh." Serah couldn't stop staring and her hand was still outstretched. How could she have not noticed? The music continued to beat around them but Noel had stopped dancing, kneeling down and removing the mask as he took her hand looking at her in concern.

"Thank the goddess you're okay. They wouldn't tell me anything after they took me in saying something about using me as 'collateral'. Did you know they have a jail here?"

"Um, excuse me!" One of the other patrons interrupted. "That's really unfair. I've been tossing you Gil all night. I want you to touch me too!" The lady swatted away at Serah's hand and pulled on Noel's arm, trying to drag him closer to her.

"Miss I think you don't understand. I know this girl." Noel quickly pulled his hand away only to find another one of the women latching on. The crowd was getting rowdy and there didn't seem to be anyone to keep the women at bay. In fact, the more Noel backed away the braver the women in the crowd got, even going so far as to go up on stage.

_"He's so handsome."_

_"Even better looking with the mask off."_

_"I bet we can get that cape off him."_

_"No, the G-string!"_

"That's it!" Serah jumped up on stage and pushed her way through the grabbing hands of the other patrons, using her petite body as a human wall to shield Noel from the seemingly ravenous crowd. He was not a piece of meat and she was not going to let him be treated that way! She was going to have many, many words with the owner of Serendipity the very second they got out of this place. How dare they use Noel like this? "Back off or else. He's mine." Serah practically growled, her eyes taking on a murderous glint to them as many of the women got the hint and began to back off.

"Serah, we should just leave." Noel had grabbed on to her arm once again, now that he was able to move freely and it shocked her out of the rage that had taken over.

"Yeah." She slipped her arm from his grip and turned her face away from his gaze. She owed him a major apology but first she really wanted him to put his clothes back on so she wouldn't be so distracted.

* * *

"So, what you're saying is that I had to strip in front of a crowd of crazy women because you decided to use me as your collateral?" Noel was back in his usual outfit and after meeting up with Mog, the trio immediately left Serendipity. Serah still wanted to give a piece of her mind to the owner, however Noel told her to let it go as they probably already had a riot on their hands from him skipping out on the show.

"I told them to talk to you about collateral, not to use you for profit." Serah frowned though her cheeks still found their way to turning pink as a particular image of Noel gyrating decided to cross her mind. He'd always worn that tight black shirt but it was hard looking at him now that she knew what was hiding underneath it. "I'm really sorry you had to go through all that."

"It's no problem. I only did it because they made it sounds like they would do something to you if I didn't." Serah felt her cheeks heat up at his admission. She always knew that Noel cared about her well-being but in this case he went above and beyond to secure her safety even if it meant public humiliation for him.

Not that he had _anything_ to be embarrassed about.

"Thank you Noel. I really appreciate it."

"Like I said, no problem. Besides, I'm sure you'll return the favor one day. After all, didn't you say I was yours?" He waggled his eyebrows and smirked causing Serah to cover her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"Hey, I had to say something to keep those women off you! It was getting crazy in there."

"I know." The two travelers laughed and smiled at one another as they floated through the Historia Crux, the destination 4XXAF where they would continue their journey and hopefully be able to save the timeline.

* * *

**おまけ！**Omake!

* * *

"Miss, you need to come with us." Serah startled when she was approached by several men in suits. Once Noel and she had repaired the timelines, those areas from the Void Beyond merged with the timeline in 500AF, reuniting Serah with her now ex-fiancée and introducing Serendipity to the masses of Gran Pulse and Bhunivelze. Noel and Serah hadn't been to Serendipity since the last 'incident' but as so much time had passed figured another visit would be harmless.

"Is there a problem?" Something wasn't right about this.

"You came here with a man wearing baggy blue pants, correct?" Inwardly Serah groaned as she reached for Mog, the moogle transforming into a sword. She had left Noel at the slot machines this time because she hadn't trusted herself due to the last time. This must have been exactly what happened to him but she was not going to put up with it. Not after the casino owner blatantly used Noel to open an attraction in spite of Serah having enough money to pay off her debt.

"Oh no, you are not going to do to me what you did with Noel!" The men in black did not seem threatened in spite of the fact that she was now wielding a weapon.

"I'm sorry miss but I'm afraid we can't let you go." Serah felt a small prick at the back of her neck moments before her eyes closed to greet the darkness.

* * *

When she awake she was still in her normal clothes though she had no idea where she was. The room was completely black and Mog was nowhere to be seen. The only light available was that which shone through a pair of curtains overhanging some kind of opening. "Where am I?" Seeing no other alternative, Serah carefully pulled back the curtain and stepped out onto a small stage as a flood light blurred her vision.

"Sir, for your pleasure, we now introduce the Pink Fury!" The flood light moved away and strobe lights started flashing around her as the soft thrum of music began to pour out from the speakers in the floor. This was the exact situation Noel had been in before they had the timeline resolved.

Was the owner really so stupid as to do this again? He had to know who they were by now!

"Go for it, Serah!" Oh he _didn't_ but deep down she knew he had. At the end of the small stage sat only one person, leaning back in the single chair in the room.

Noel Kreiss.

"Noel! What are you doing?" Her companion chuckled as he rose up from his seat and stepped up onto the stage. He seemed awfully confident for someone about to die if he didn't explain himself. If she didn't kill him, Lightning would the moment she found out.

"I told you I was sure you'd return the favor one day." The smirk on his face was just asking to be wiped off. "Did you know they do private rooms now? I guess the showing I did was so popular that they now allow the customers to buy private time with the dancers." He leaned in, playing with the hot pink strap at the top of her outfit as she fumed. "We can do anything we want in here with no one being the wiser. No cameras." Calloused fingers stroked along her collar, slowly lowering the strap to her shoulder as he moved to breathe her in, somehow calming the fury inside her.

"Anything?" She remembered how hot it was the last time she'd seen him on stage.

"Anything." That smirk looked positively wicked and she could feel her heart racing with anticipation.

"Audience participation?" She reached out to grab the waist of his pants and pulled him even closer.

"Yup." His mouth pressed against her neck in a small kiss before he met her lips with his own. "In fact, I think it's mandatory." Pulling at the cloth and belts at his waist she untied them, dropping his pants moments before she stepped away and went for the chair he had previously been sitting on, leaning back and sticking out her tongue while he recovered from his shock.

"Well then, you'd better give me one hell of a show."


End file.
